Bumper sweet potato crop up north

[digitS']

I could grow them in the little hoop house in my backyard and it might work okay. It goes up about mid-March. I pull it down and outta the way by July. Might that help enough?

When I set up a low tunnel in a garden, I fretted about it continuously.

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

I'm not sure if that would be enough or not. If you check out the Sand Hill preservation site, he has a lot of great growing info on sweet potatoes. It says you need 1200 heat units to produce the early varieties, and goes on to explain how to calculate that, etc. it is the best info on growing sweet potatoes I have found.

 

[PhilaGardener]

I haven't dug mine yet...probably will this weekend. Believe it or not, I still have a few sweet potatoes left from last year, barely starting to sprout.

I believe it! I was able to keep some of my O'Henry sweet potatoes harvested in Fall 2013 until Spring of 2015 to replant after losing my 2014 garden crop to bad weather. They got a bit corky and dried out (for eating) but were able to hang on for a year and a half. These are really amazing plants!

 

[digitS']

I'm not sure if that would be enough or not.

How about this?

The nearest Weather Service station with information on growing degree days has almost exactly equivalent average with Augusta, Maine.

What do you think ?

Spokane WA is one of the listed cities. How about that 2015 with 33% higher than average ... a new normal?!

Steve
Oops! Here's the website:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/cdus/degree_days/grodgree.txt

 

[buckabucka]

Interesting website. I am surprised that we had more growing degree days than normal, but we did have some very hot days in the spring and fall (I only remember those because my classroom was an oven!).

We are not far from Augusta, - only a little cooler. Now you can spend the winter dreaming about which sweet potato variety to try first.....

 

[digitS']

Well, I still haven't worked this out ...

SH Preservation uses a base of 55 Fahrenheit. The WS uses 50°. That's what corn growers and some others use as a base. It can be any number but things like wheat can grow at a lower daily average than sweet potatoes.

Ah, sweet potatoes. Gotta be cooking ... with our cool nights pulling down the average ... It will take some calculating.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

Forget the math and just plant a few and see what happens. Different outcome ever year, but most successful.

 

[digitS']

What are you doin', Cat', trying to take all the fun outta it?! ...

I thought it would be quick and easy since the Weather Channel has a GDD calculator. Turns out, their calculator starts with a base of 50 or 60, not 55°!

Figuring a 6/1 to 9/1 season for 2014, I've got about 2000 GDD with 50° & 1000 GDD with 60°.

Okay, look at Wikipedia info, do average monthly for the 3 months. I've got 1070 GDD at 55°!! Well, that is confusing but must reflect that 2014 was warmer than whatever Wikipedia is showing ... right, forget the math ... otherwise, I might have to count each day. And, I can't account for June in the hoop house!

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

OOOOO, math is fun.......Oh my God my brain is starting to hurt.....

 

[Carol Dee]

I haven't dug mine yet...probably will this weekend. Believe it or not, I still have a few sweet potatoes left from last year, barely starting to sprout.

What is your secret to storage for that long? We lost ALL of them 2 winters ago and about 2/3 last winter.